{"id":7486,"date":"2025-02-21T11:57:51","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T16:57:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/elphd\/?page_id=7486"},"modified":"2026-08-12T09:05:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T13:05:25","slug":"meet-our-department-head","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/elphd\/meet-our-department-head\/","title":{"rendered":"Message from Our Department Head"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Welcome to the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development (ELPHD) in the College of Education at NC State University. As Department Head, I am honored to invite you to explore our vibrant community of extraordinary researchers, educators, practitioners, and scholar-leaders. Grounded in NC State\u2019s land-grant mission, our collective work in ELPHD is driven by a shared commitment to educational excellence and transformative change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our academic programs span educational leadership, post-secondary education, adult and lifelong education, counseling, and policy. Guided by NC State\u2019s &#8220;Think and Do&#8221; spirit, our faculty, students, and partners work collaboratively to translate cutting-edge research into real-world solutions \u2014 transforming schools, colleges and universities, workforce pipelines, and communities across North Carolina and globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the heart of our department is an unwavering commitment to student success and engagement. Whether you are a prospective student seeking an educational home to learn, conduct research, and drive real-world impact, a current student or graduate making a meaningful difference in your field, or a community partner collaborating with us to shape policy and confront pressing educational challenges, you will find a supportive, dynamic academic home in ELPHD. Our nationally recognized faculty are deeply invested in your growth and professional development. Together, we cultivate an interconnected, interdisciplinary environment where curious minds connect, innovate, and turn learning into lasting impact.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I invite you to explore our website to learn more about our degree programs, faculty research, and community initiatives, and I encourage you to reach out to faculty, staff, and our leadership team to learn more about how you can join and contribute to our thriving academic community.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"ncst-fancy-paragraph-seventy is-text wp-block-ncst-fancy-paragraph\">\n      \n<div class=\"text-only wp-block-ncst-fp-accompaniment\">\n    \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Joy Gaston Gayles, Ph.D.<\/strong><br>ELPHD Department Head &amp; Alumni Association Distinguished Graduate Professor<br>Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development<br>North Carolina State University<\/p>\n\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ncst-fp-accompaniment\">\n    \n<div class=\"wp-block-ncst-fp-image\">\n  <figure class=\"fancy-paragraph__image-container fancy-paragraph__image-square\">\n          <img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" \n        decoding=\"async\"\n        class=\"fp-image wp-image-8476\"\n        src=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/elphd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/08\/joygastongayles.jpg\"\n         alt=\"Joy Gaston Gayles\"          style=\"object-position:0% 50%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/elphd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/08\/joygastongayles.jpg 500w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/elphd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/08\/joygastongayles-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/elphd\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2026\/08\/joygastongayles-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/>\n          <\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n  \n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"2024-2025 Year in Review: Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/L74spiw44V8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development (ELPHD) in the College of Education at NC State University. As Department Head, I am honored to invite you&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":244,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-7486","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/elphd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/elphd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/elphd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/elphd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/244"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/elphd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7486"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/elphd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8481,"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/elphd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7486\/revisions\/8481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ced.ncsu.edu\/elphd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}